What can we expect from Travis d'Arnaud in 2015?

Travis d'Arnaud has been traded twice already in his brief professional career, and some believe that he will be nothing more than an average offensive catcher with less than stellar defense. Injuries have plagued the soon-to-be 26 year old backstop, but the youngster is primed to take a big leap in 2015. 

Should We Really Expect a Dud from Duda?

Photo courtesy of Jim McIssac from Newsday

      Lucas Duda had a great season. That is obvious as evidenced by his 30 home runs in a pitcher friendly park. It is also important to note his .228 ISO ranked 12th among all Major Leaguers. However, there has been some talk about a possible regression this season. The question I have, is the talk of a Lucas Duda regression overblown? 

The Mets Missed The Boat on Daniel Murphy

Courtesy of nextimpulsesports.com

    The Mets feel like they have a team that can be competitive in 2015, I get it. Or maybe Sandy Alderson is just trying to make the fanbase feel that way so they can sell tickets. Either way, it has been made abundantly clear that Daniel Murphy is going to test free agency at the end of the season.

Evaluating The First Round of the Fantasy Baseball Draft

Photo Courtesy of espn.go.com

(The following is based off of the top ten rankings from fantasypros.com)

(This will take into account 12 team drafts)

Flores has been working hard, ready to start if needed

The shortstop issue has been a hot topic for discussion throughout the entire off-season, and as February nears, it appears as if Wilmer Flores will be the go-to guy. In an awesome piece via Newsday, the youngster talks about the hard work and effort he has put in this winter in order to prove that he is capable of handling the everyday shortstop gig.

Fantasy Baseball

    Hi everyone! I wanted to say that from all of us here at under the stache, we greatly appreciate the support from each and every one of you. Now this isn't an article as much as it is an announcement. The announcement as you can probably tell is about fantasy baseball. We figured that since draft day for most will be a little over a month, we would give tips. Even though this is mainly a Mets website, we want to shake things up just a little bit. Through the use of analytics and other methods of research, we will provide you with all the information you'll need to achieve ultimate bragging rights or that cool cash prize. Be sure to check out the rest of our articles and keep a look out for Monday, as that is when I'll release the first article of my fantasy baseball series where I will take a look at the projected first round.

Previewing 2015: First Base (MLB and MiLB edition's)

The Mets entered the 2014 season with both Lucas Duda and Ike Davis manning first base, with Josh Satin on reserve as a platoon partner. While the position has been a dark hole for New York ever since Carlos Delgado left a few years back, fans remained hopeful that either Duda or Davis would develop into a player who is capable of putting up a respectable rate. When Ike Davis was shipped off to Pittsburgh in late-April, Duda was handed the starting gig on a silver platter, despite not doing much to secure it (only hit .256/.333/.465 with 3 HR in 15 games before Davis trade). 

In this article, we will be previewing the 2015 first base situation for the Mets, including minor league players. 

Max Scherzer and Deferred Money

Photo Credit to Geoff Burke, USA Today Sports

    As most probably know, the Nationals recently signed Max Scherzer to a "record" contract of 7 years and $210 million. The catch with this deal though, is that is isn't actually $210 Million. The deal has been reported stating Scherzer will be paid $15 Million a year for 14 years by the Nationals.

Why Does Nobody Want Bartolo Colon?

Credit to rantsports.com 

   I don’t know about you, but Bartolo Colon has value. Colon has shown value to the Mets as a solid back of the rotation starter who can eat innings, prevent runs efficiently in those innings and is affordable at $11 million for only a one year commitment. The problem with all of this is, it still seems that no team wants him. 

Cross off the Rangers as a suitor for Dillon Gee

The Rangers seem to be out of the Dillon Gee sweepstakes. Today, they acquired pitcher Yovani Gallardo from the Brewers in exchange for a package of prospects. These youngsters include 21 year old infielder Luis Sardinas, and pitchers Corey Knebel and Marcos Diplan. Also, Milwaukee will send $4 million over to Texas to help balance out Gallardo's contract. 

Are the Nats ready to run away with the NL East?

Yesterday it was reported that the Nationals and Max Scherzer had agreed upon a 7 year, $210 million deal. More specific details regarding the contract leaked several hours later, including a deferment which will pay Scherzer $105 million over the following 7 years after his contract expires. Essentially, it is a 14 year, $210 million deal. Not that bad for a guy who, only a few seasons ago, was considered a number 3 starter at best.

The Case For Wilmer Flores as The Mets Shortstop of The Future

        

Credit to Zimbio.com

      Sounds crazy and ridiculous, I know. However, despite the defensive concerns and everything in-between, Wilmer Flores truly has a shot at being the long term answer to shortstop the Mets have oh so desperately needed since the Jose Reyes fiasco.

Previewing 2015: the Outfield (MiLB edition)

As of now, it appears as if the outfield is a strong suit for the Mets heading into 2015. However, that doesn't stress the importance of the prospects that the Mets have in their farm system, as they could be a key piece in both the short and long term future of this franchise.

In this article, we will take a look at the top outfield prospects in the organization, while determining their MLB ETA's. 

Curtis Granderson’s Contract Is Already a Mess

Credit to newyork.cbslocal.com

       When the news broke about Curtis Granderson agreeing to a contract with the Mets, the majority of Mets fans were filled with joy. Me on the other hand, I slammed my phone against the counter of where I work. Of course though, I wanted to give the deal the benefit of the doubt and give Granderson a chance in a Mets uniform.

Mets avoid arbitration with three, 2 remain unsigned

UPDATE 1/16/14: Mets, Murphy avoid arbitration, agree on $8 million deal. 

UPDATE: 1/29/15: Mets, Mejia avoid arbitration, agree on $2.6 million deal.

Today was the deadline to exchange arbitration figures with arbitration eligible players who remain unsigned. The team has brought back Dillon Gee and Ruben Tejada on one-year contracts. Lucas Duda appears to be headed to arbitration.

Previewing 2015: the Outfield (MLB edition)

Jason Bay. Angel Pagan. Carlos Beltran. These players were included in the Mets' starting outfield throughout the 2011 season. That particular season proved to be an important one, as it was Terry Collins' first time as the team's skipper, and Sandy Alderson's official starting point for his rebuilding plan. Pagan and Beltran were dealt away, and Bay, well, didn't turn out. 

The team has manned a considerable amount of fringe players in the outfield since that point, including Jason Pridie, Scott Hairston, Mike Baxter, and let's not forget the legend himself, Collin Cowgill. 

Coming into the 2014 off-season, the Mets knew that they would have to acquire an outfielder, simply because the combination of den Dekker/Nieuwenhuis/Campbell just wasn't going to cut it. In a move that surprised many, they inked free agent veteran Michael Cuddyer to a 2 year, $21 million pact. In doing so they forfeited their 2015 first round pick, which seemed out of sync for a front office that had been relying on the draft to build their farm system back up once again. 

In this article, we will be previewing the 2015 outfield situation for the Mets, excluding minor league players.

Why The Mets Dodged a Bullet Not Trading For Troy Tulowitzki

Photo Courtesy of blogs.denverpost.com

          There have been two narratives to the Mets offseason. One of those two have been the anticipation towards Matt Harvey joining a very talented, as well as a young rotation headlined by the reigning National League Rookie of the Year in Jacob Degrom, and the steadily improving Zack Wheeler who happens to have electric stuff. The second narrative has been the chatter among Mets fans regarding Troy Tulowitzki. Troy Tulowitzki seems to be the most polarizing player among the Mets fanbase in years, and he isn’t even a Met at the moment of writing this. In this writers opinion, consider it to be a great thing the Mets have not traded for the man known as Tulo.